XPS 15 (9570) Windows 10 installation complains about missing drivers (even with RST)

"Windows 10 installer that complains about missing drivers and won't install anything" 

"Error: A required CD/DVD device driver is missing - when you start Windows setup disk"  Applies to windows VISTA / 7 / 8 / 10.

That is a specific Issue.  You must use F6 mass storage Drivers or windows will refuse to install because it can't see any hard drives.  You must install GPT and UEFI.  MBR and Legacy booting and install are no longer an option EVER AGAIN.

This error can occur if one or more of the following scenarios are true: 

• The CD/DVD drive may not be compatible with Windows
• The CD/DVD media may be damaged or dirty or burned faster than 1X 2X or 4X max.
• Your CD/DVD drive  and hard drive may be incompatible with the Microsoft AHCI driver (msahci.sys)
• You are trying to install the OS with USB3 flash drive or DVD drive.I use specific USB 2.0 blue ray drive with Commercial WINDOWS 10 OEM System Builder DVD version 1809.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-8x-external-usb-2-0-blu-ray-disc-double-layer-dvdrw-cd-rw-disc-rewriter-black/9243009.p?skuId=9243009

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416892

There is no difference between HOME and PRO media so one disk works with everything.

The external USB 2.0 Drive with Media F12 boots and installs on everything without error and on dells from as early as 2006 Optiplex GX620 all the way thru my current G7 7588 laptop that was built Feb 24, 2019.

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@speedstep wrote:

Items with yellow !  in device manager will have hardware ID's

CHIPSET Drivers,  Card Readers,  Fingerprint Scanners,   Audio drivers.

Completely irrelevant. I am talking about the Windows 10 installer that complains about missing drivers and won't install anything. I am not talking about device manager in Windows 10 itself. So I am looking for which drivers are needed to *install* Windows 10. It used to be just storage drivers for RAID/AHCI, but it looks like the XPS needs more. Maybe a SSD driver, but I can't find that one.

Could you please stop posting information without reading my post?

At stated twice, I did provide the F6 / RST driver already but the installer tells me it needs more drivers.

Which ones?

I followed this process: https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln302609/how-to-install-the-storage-controller-f6-driver-during-the-windows-installation-setup-process?lang=en

With this driver:

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver and Management Console
Serial ATA 23 Apr 2019 Download
Importance: Recommended

Version: 17.0.2.1076 ,A00 Older versions
Release Date: 13 Feb 2019

File Name: Serial-ATA_Driver_6W1FP_WN32_17.0.2.1076_A00_01.EXE
File size: 52.49 MB

So you went to site below and downloaded the Floppy version shown last in the list?

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28650/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver?product=83424

The article you were reading is for 2013 so information within may not be up to date.  A system booted with UEFI will recognize a NVMe drive and install Windows, but it probably will not make it past the first reboot.

I am assuming you have not changed the Bios to show AHCI instead of RAID.

If you continue to have problems, change the controller on the original install using the special procedure, then you won't have to worry about the Intel controller.

In AHCI mode I get the same behaviour with the AHCI driver.

I have downloaded the RST driver from Dell, but the same happens with the F6 floppy version. This is RAID mode, which should work with the right driver?

Selecting Install:

When clicking next it starts processing for a bit and then tells me it needs more drivers:

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@Saltgrass wrote:

A system booted with UEFI will recognize a NVMe drive and install Windows, but it probably will not make it past the first reboot.

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UEFI vs. Legacy has nothing to do with hardware support or detection. A system booted in AHCI mode, however, should recognize an NVMe drive. A system in RAID mode will have trouble if the Windows installer doesn’t have a sufficiently new version of the Intel RST driver built in. And the only way you’d be able to install Windows and not have it boot correctly in a scenario like this would be if you had manually injected the Intel RST driver into the Boot.wim file but not the Install.wim file, thereby allowing Windows Setup to see the SSD even in RAID mode but NOT giving the actual installed Windows environment that support — but only injecting into one WIM file wouldn’t make sense for a situation like this, and that’s not what the OP is doing anyway. If on the other hand you manually supply a driver during Windows Setup, that driver will automatically be copied into the Windows environment being installed specifically to avoid the “Windows installed but now won’t boot” situation.

"installer tells me it needs more drivers"

I have read everything and the answer is still the same.

More Drivers means you are not seeing any drives to install on OR your media is USB3 and it disappeared during initial install.

This means your "DRIVER" is not the correct version, your installer is NOT USB 2.0, or its corrupted.

You don't need F6 drivers when SATA OPERATION IS SET TO  AHCI setting vs RAID setting to "see" drives.

HOWEVER using USB3 flash drive or Optical Drive will cause the installer to fail with the A required CD/DVD driver device driver is missing. If you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, please insert it now.

I have one installer now and it works for EVERYTHING.  Both Burned Media as well as OEM System Builder DVD Drives.

The installer is NOT A flash drive. Its a USB 2.0 Blueray Burner.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-8x-external-usb-2-0-blu-ray-disc-double-layer-dvdrw-cd-rw-disc-rewriter-black/9243009.p?skuId=9243009

Works on EVERY DELL I have installed from 2006 Optiplex GX620 to 2019  G7 7588 Laptop.

Installs on NVME SATA and NVME PCI-E as well as 2.5 inch SSD and does not need ANY drivers when set for AHCI NOT RAID.  Must also be GPT UEFI.   MBR LEGACY booting is not allowed past Skylake.

DAMAGED OR USB3 MEDIA VS USB 2.0

I just did a clean Win 10 install on an NVMe drive with the SATA set to RAID in the Bios.  I used the drivers I downloaded from Intel which show as Premium, and are the ones used normally on a system.  I had to unzip mine and copy over to the flash drive.  I did not copy over the folder, just the files.

In your attachments, you needed to pick one of the drivers and it should have been the top one.  If you did select the top one and allowed it to be copied over, it should have worked with the drive.  I also left the USB drive attached, in case you are removing it prior to install completion.

I received no notices any drivers were required.

I would try to do a dual boot install but I don't have the money to purchase another Win 10 license.

Of course I am not going to buy an $80 external drive just to install Windows.

But based on the above I tried to install the Realtek Cardreader driver instead of the RST driver and that worked :)

Thanks for the feedback. I am still baffled that in 2019 a computer does this:

1) Dear user, do you want to boot from this SD card? I like it and it looks very nice, my skills are so great I can even boot from it.

2) Dear user here is the Windows 10 installer program running. I started this program from this SD card in your SD card reader which is an awesome device that works out of the box.

3) Dear user I have now booted the laptop and started the installer from this great SD card. I think now it's time to tell you I CANNOT ACCESS THE SD CARD WITHOUT A DRIVER. I am so ashamed of this that the error message I present to you will be very vague so you have no idea I am talking about the cardreader. PLEASE GIMME A "MEDIA" DRIVER!

Peter.

Give me a driver means that the hard drive or the install media went away.

The realtek and other chipset F6 Mass Storage drivers were suggested in the very first response and were dismissed by you as "completely irrelevant"

That's why the error is specific.  It has nothing to do with Dell specifically and everything to do with what drivers are built into the windows 10 installer media for mass storage devices on USB or AHCI or PCI-E etc.

Thats why I specifically use USB 2.0 Optical Drive with OEM System builder DVD.

That setup works fine for every dell I own from 2006 Optiplex GX620 to 2019 G7 7588 Laptop.

Using that installs and does not ask for ANY Drivers.

The give me more drivers issue started with Advanced Format Drives all the way back in 2011.  The MUST USE USB 2.0 started showing up more and more as systems come with USB 3.0 ports exclusively and applies to windows 7 and 8 and 10 regardless of UEFI GPT or MBR Legacy.

After Skylake all systems REQUIRE 64 bit os and drivers and REQUIRE UEFI and GPT.

Legacy MBR is no longer an option from this point on.  If you need that you will have to find older hardware.

The $99 blueray drive has an additional bonus in that it comes with Cyberlogic Power DVD playback software that works fine in windows 10 AND it works in new and OLD machines with at least USB 2.0 ports.

The cost of the software directly is actually more than that if you are buying it. 

The other bonus is that I have install media for any machine from 2006 to 2019.  Doesnt matter whether its onto NVME stick or SATA Drive or SSD etc.

I just went through this same thing with an XPS 13 9370 and before I saw your post I didn't think it could be the MicroSD reader because it had ALREADY READ THE MICROSD TO BOOT INTO THE WINDOWS SETUP!

This was driving me crazy and I do think it is indeed bass-ackwards...

Thank you for your post and I hope they can fix this at some point.

I have several systems and never seen a Realtek Card reader driver cause install problems.  I have seen a need for F6 floppy drivers if you were tying to install a NVMe drive using the SATA controller set to RAID.

Having said that, there have been "Known Issues" with some of the later builds regarding Realtek Card readers but not sure about the latest, 1903.

Not having an SD card installed during any type of update/upgrade is always a good idea.

Realtek was removed because their security certificate SPECIFICALLY WITH USB mass storage was compromised.  The certificate has been revoked for ALL REALTEK products.  Malware uses the compromised certificate to install root kit virus onto recovery partition.  This is also why realtek audio keeps getting broken with each windows feature update.

This is also why Thunderbolt 3 changed for USB-C to not allow boot or mounting of drives.  Its SECURE disabled by default.

29 exploitation methods in four different categories, depending on the way the attack is being carried out.